Yitgadal v’yitkadash
We mourn our country,
Where politics trump policy,
Where tantrums and tweets
supersede tolerance and truth,
supersede tolerance and truth,
Where white privilege
has colored our perception of the world,
Where hatred has become the hero.
has colored our perception of the world,
Where hatred has become the hero.
Sh’mei raba
We mourn our country,
Where the flag has become a symbol
of division instead of unity,
of division instead of unity,
Where people speak with fists, not facts,
Where we build walls, not bridges.
Div’ra hir’utei
Where neighbor has become nemesis,
Where science is but hearsay.
V’yamlikh malkhutei
We mourn the loss of civility,
replaced by skewed priorities and scathing accusations,
replaced by skewed priorities and scathing accusations,
A country where we no longer feel safe
in our schools, our cars, our houses of worship.
in our schools, our cars, our houses of worship.
B’khayekhon u’v’yomeikhon
Where smiles have been replaced by sneers,
kind gestures by jeers, faith by fear.
kind gestures by jeers, faith by fear.
U’v’khei d’khol beit Yisrael
Where earnings take precedence over our Earth,
Where masks reveal who we really are,
Where we are in physical and spiritual lockdown,
Where we are enslaved to a system
that fails to protect the most vulnerable.
that fails to protect the most vulnerable.
Ba’agala u’viz’man kariv
We mourn that our melting pot
is boiling over with anger and hate.
is boiling over with anger and hate.
We have lost our compass.
We have lost our patience.
We have lost our soul.
We have lost our patience.
We have lost our soul.
We mourn that our country is blind to injustice,
deaf to common sense,
mute in defending the oppressed.
deaf to common sense,
mute in defending the oppressed.
May we open our eyes to possibility,
our ears to dialogue,
our hearts to compassion.
our ears to dialogue,
our hearts to compassion.
V’imru amen.
